Celebrity author Sachio and his supportive wife Natsuko have an amicable marriage that lacks passion. While Natsuko dies in a bus accident, Sachio is in bed with a younger woman. Forced to play the role of a grieving widower in front of media, he is more shocked by his emotional disconnect to her death. Unable to muster any genuine sadness for his wife’s passing, he’s at a loss for how to proceed with his life.

Eventually he meets Yoichi, whose wife perished in the same bus accident. Unlike Sachio, Yoichi is devastated and in denial. For unfathomable reasons Sachio volunteers to help take care of Yoichi’s children while their father is out working long hours as a truck driver.

The Long Excuse is a touching drama that closely follows its characters and their transformation, prompted by empathy and death. Director Miwa Nishikawa, who was mentored by Hirokazu Kore-eda (After the Storm), beautifully orchestrates joy and sadness, creating a film that is emotional but never overbearing. Featuring stellar acting by Masahiro Motoki (Departures) as Sachio and Pistol Takehara as Yoichi.

Meet up place: In ticket area, Just past the lift on your left as you walk in, will wait at the end of the table.

Film start time. 8.30pm

Tickets: TitanXC $20(plus booking fee). I have booked a seat , 4th row from the back right in the middle. https://readingcinema...

David Gilmour fans are getting a one-night-only opportunity to attend theatrical screenings of the former Pink Floyd guitarist’s historic performances in Pompeii.

SYNOPSIS

45 years after Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour filmed ‘Live At Pompeii’ in the legendary Roman Amphitheatre there, he returned for two spectacular shows, part of his year-long tour in support of his No.1 album ‘Rattle That Lock’. The performances were the first-ever rock concerts for an audience in the stone Roman amphitheatre, and, for two nights only, the 2,600 strong crowd stood exactly where gladiators would have fought in the first century AD.

‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ is an audio-visual spectacle, featuring lasers, pyrotechnics and a huge circular screen on which specially-created films complement selected songs, but paramount above all is the astonishing music and stellar performances from an all-star band. The show includes songs from throughout David's career, as well as many Pink Floyd classics, including 'One Of These Days', the only song that was also performed at the band’s 1971 show.

Both concerts also saw very special performances of 'The Great Gig In The Sky' from 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', which David rarely plays as a solo artist. This concert performance film includes highlights from both shows, filmed in 4k by director Gavin Elder . ‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ shows an artist at the top of his artistic game, performing incredible material with his world-class band, in a unique setting, on one very special occasion.

Songs include the title tracks of his two most recent No. 1 solo albums: Rattle That Lock and On An Island, as well as other solo and Pink Floyd classics, including Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb.

Seating: General admission - first come best seated. I'll hang outside the auditorium for a few minutes from 1.30pm ... if you're late and we've already gone in, I will wait again after the film outside the doors in the lower ground foyer.

How did a boy from a backward town on the Caribbean coast become a writer who won the hearts of millions, from the poorest to the most powerful political leaders, and whose works changed our perception of reality?

This is the incredible story of Gabriel García Márquez — 'Gabo' to all of Latin America — winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature, author of the globally popular masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the most popular and perhaps best writer in Spanish since Cervantes.

Growing up in poverty and violence, he was propelled by a love of life and a sensual, magical sensibility. He pioneered life-affirming literature and — through his militant journalism and friendships with leaders like Fidel Castro and Bill Clinton — was at the forefront of the political struggles of the 70s and 80s.

More than just a biography, this film is a powerful narrative following the interwoven threads of Márquez’s life and work to reveal the incredible power of human imagination.

I won't be posting meet ups for these but if you head along you might see me at a fair few - the 2017 season looks like a goodie. Screenings are mostly Mondays at 6.30pm from March 2017. You can buy the whole year's subscription or just get a 3 card pass as you go.